Pathaan Review {4.5/5} & Review Rating
PATHAAN is the story of a passionate agent working for the country. In 2019, after the government of India revoked Article 370, an enraged Pakistan general Qadir (Manish Wadhwa) decides to take revenge. He signs a contract with Jim (John Abraham), a dreaded terrorist who has an extreme enmity towards India. RAW’s Nandini (Dimple Kapadia), meanwhile, gets a glimpse of a mysterious lady in France, with whom she has had sort of a past connection. Due to this development, she decides to meet Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan), an agent who was once one of the best agents for India but has now supposedly gone rogue. Three years ago, Pathaan had come across Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) and from thereon, things went downhill for him. But the country right now needs Pathaan to save itself from the clutches of Jim. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Siddharth Anand’s story is simple and even clichéd. But Shridhar Raghavan’s screenplay is highly engaging as the writer peppers the narrative with loads of action, humour, thrill, and even emotions. Abbas Tyrewala’s dialogues are smart yet conversational. A few dialogues are moving.
Siddharth Anand’s direction is first-rate. To begin with, he has handled the grandeur very well. In fact, the scale is more than what was seen in WAR [2019]. The way he ensured that he does not go overboard with the scale is praiseworthy. He also does justice to the various twists and turns in the tale. The director very well handles an emotional sequence in the second half, which takes place at the Indian Institute of Contagious Disease.
On the flipside, logic takes a backseat in several places. The way Pathaan conveniently enters even the most high-security zones and escapes almost unscathed is difficult to digest. The Afghanistan episode in the climax is predictable. However, the makers compensate for these shortcomings with some high-octane action and thrilling scenes and hence, one will not complain much after coming out of the cinema hall.
PATHAAN begins with a paisa vasool entry scene of Shah Rukh Khan. The flashback portions also contribute to the fun. Rubina’s entry and the scene thereafter are sure to be greeted with claps and whistles. The Moscow episode has a lot of humour and the intermission point is a shocker. Post interval, several scenes stand out like the chase sequence on the frozen lake, the madness in the train, and at the Indian Institute of Contagious Disease. The climax is nail-biting and the film ends on a high. The scene that follows the end credit song is terrific and because it is relevant to the real-life scenario!
Pathaan | Official Trailer | Shah Rukh Khan | Deepika Padukone | John Abraham
Speaking of performances, Shah Rukh Khan is in superb form. The superstar looks quite dashing and performance-wise, he is a treat to watch. With his humour, style and action, he enhances the commercial element of the film many notches higher. And as expected, he also shines in the emotional scenes. Deepika Padukone is at her hottest best and delivers a bravura performance. Her character is crucial to the narrative and she looks quite cool while doing action. John Abraham is an apt choice for the role of the menacing and dashing villain. His screen time is limited in the first half but he makes up for it after the intermission. Salman Khan (Tiger) is outstanding, to say the least. Both his scenes are the most memorable ones in the film. Dimple Kapadia, Ashutosh Rana (Captain Luthra), Manish Wadhwa, Prakash Belawadi (Scientist), Aakash Bhatija (Nandini’s junior) and the actor playing the pilot do well.
Vishal-Sheykhar’s music is of chartbuster variety. ‘Besharam Rang’ is already a rage and comes into the film at an important juncture. The same goes for ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’. Special mention should also go to Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography (in ‘Besharam Rang’) and Bosco-Caesar’s choreography (in ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’). Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara’s background score is memorable, especially the theme played during Jim’s scenes.
Satchith Paulose’s cinematography is spectacular and the various foreign locales are breathtakingly shot. Rajat Poddar’s production design is top-class. Casey O’Neill, Craig Macrae, and Sunil Rodrigues’ action is one of the highpoints of the film. Shaleena Nathani, Mamta Anand, and Niharika Jolly’s costumes are stylish, especially the ones worn by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. yFX’s VFX matches global standards. Aarif Sheikh’s editing is razor-sharp.
On the whole, PATHAAN is a complete entertainer, replete with action, emotions, patriotism, humour, thrill, and of course, the star power of Shah Rukh Khan. At the box office, it will take a historic opening and will emerge as one of the biggest hits of Bollywood. In short, it has BLOCKBUSTER written all over it!